Saturday, April 26, 2008

At The Airport

Peggy Noonan had a good column in yesterday's Wall Street Journal.

Her lead:

America is in line at the airport. America has its shoes off, is carrying a rubberized bin, is going through a magnetometer. America is worried there is fungus on the floor after a million stockinged feet have walked on it. But America knows not to ask. America is guilty until proved innocent, and no one wants to draw undue attention. America left its ticket and passport in the jacket in the bin in the X-ray machine, and is admonished. America is embarrassed to have put one one-ounce moisturizer too many in the see-through bag. America is irritated that the TSA agent removed its mascara, opened it, put it to her nose, and smelled it. Why don't you put it up your nose and see if it explodes? America thinks.

1 comment:

Casey said...

That is absolutely wonderful. For those of us who have to do that whole thing with small children (who do not always want to comply) I say THANK YOU. And honestly, when your three-year-old doesn't want to take his blinky sneakers off no-way-no-how, try explaining to him why he has to. Heck, we don't even really get it most of the time.

In Europe, they've lifted the ban on the liquids in a plastic bag for within-european flights. It's senseless and Brussels has finally admitted it. Think the US ever will?

And finally, if that mascara had something horrible in it, like anthrax, do you think it's a terribly smart thing to put the damn thing up to your nose and take a whiff? They're not the sharpest crayons in the box, now are they?

Just proves the whole thing is a hoax. Artificial sense of security.